Black Sun: Sealed Away!
by Kvothe Arliden
Summary: Urahara has found a new way to torture…cough… train Ichigo. It involves kido, school, and a really weird ring. ICHIRUKI New version will be written later non Ichiruki…maybe rating may change
1. Prologue

**READ THIS**

** THIS IS NOT A CRACKFIC UNDERSTAND THIS WELL. ALSO SET AFTER ORHIME IS SAVED BUT AIZEN HAS PULLED BACK FROM KARAKURA FOR THE MOMENT MOST OF THE ESPADA ARE STILL ALIVE BUT SOME HAVE DIED JUST TO BRIND THE BATTLE OVER KARAKURA INTO THE MIX. KITE TUBO is the master after all.  
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**Also please review when you can. I love reading them be/c some of them are honestly hilarious and others are genuinely helpful. So please review. I truly don't see how authors write their first book without devoted reviewers, and i don't plan on following their miserable example :)  
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Yamamoto Genryusai slowly opened one scarred eye and raised his wrinkled head as Urahara Kisuke's grinning visage flickered into existence on the screen.

"Good morning Yama-san! For what do owe the pleasure of speaking with one so high up as yourself?" He spoke from behind his fan in his very best shopkeeper voice. "I didn't actually think I would get to speak directly with you so quick-"

"I do not have the time or the inclination to play games with you, Kisuke. Why did you wish to speak with me?" Yamamoto spoke swiftly and severely. A norm for him,..but there was something else, something intangible. Something high strung in the way his chin rose slightly, and almost...panicked when his eye widened almost imperceptibly. No normal person would ever had noticed. But Urahara was no normality in any sense of the word, and Urahara did well to take note of these tell tale signs and quickly moved on.

"Sir, I believe that I have found a rather interesting way to help with this war effort"

Yamamoto opened his eye further at the quick change in demeanor but said nothing.

"You know of Ichigo Kurosaki, no?" Yamamoto simply glared and replied with a curt nod.

"Well, I watched him spar with Abarai earlier this week. And during their session i noticed something odd. When I taught Ichigo after he first obtained Shikai, he quickly moved away from the power style he had used to take out the low level hollows. In order to survive the boy immediately began to copy my own movements. And not only that but he instinctively incorporated them into his own natural movements and I bet he has even improved on a few of my own techniques. In five days that boy took a style completely different from anything he had ever seen And At this Yamamoto cut in. "How so? Please explain yourself Kisuke. You have certainly peaked my interest, as I'm sure you know I have already taken a certain liking to the boy, as well as our obvious need for any advantage we can obtain at this point. I'm just not quite sure how a large reatsu could hamper him" Urahara smiled slyly and continued,

"Normally you have one of two kind of prodigies. The first is the quick learner. One who sees a move or a style of fighting and can quickly incorporate it into his own fighting style or at least copy it. Then you have the 'bullfighters' as I like to call who are not particularly quick but who have a massive amount of reatsu which allows them to master difficult techniques quickly. Kurosaki-kun is a conundrum. He is definitely a 'bullfighter' in both his recent style and his amount of reatsu, but I think that is hindering him. Sir, his true strength does not lie in his reatsu. It lies in his ability to quickly learn how to **use** that power. Before he invaded soul society he had only fought extremely low level hollow for somewhere around two months. Then, I trained with him for five days. _Five days_ and he goes into soul society and defeats Ikakku Madarame straight off the bat, before he can even use his shikai's ability. He doesn't just beat him into the ground with his power either. He defeats him by quickly adapting to Ikkaku's strange fighting style. Then he goes on to learn Bankai in _TWO DAYS_."

Kisuke was slowly rising in volume and his speed was increasing exponentially, something the soutaicho began to notic immediately.

"Sir, his odds of achieving bankai, even using my method, factoring in him being an extraordinary prodigy, in **three** days were only somewhere around 5-10%. Yet he did it in two. AND..."

Yamamoto was quickly growing impatient with the listing of Ichigo's achievements, impressive though they were, and decided to step in before Urahara was lost in his own little world, "Kisuke!.... I am aware of all of this. Get to the point."Yamamoto struck the ground using his cane with an impatience heretofore unseen in the soutaicho.

Urahara smiled infuriatingly then, and said, "Of course sir. The point is, that early growth which i spoke of, has stopped. In all of his recent fights, from right after his fight with Kuchiki-san forward have been haphazard brawls where eventually they end it just seeing who has the most reatsu and who can condense it into the most powerful attack. Ichigo almost always has the most reatsu but because he has been relying on that power so heavily, he has almost no control over it. Causing enemies like the sixth espada to severely injur him when he should have little trouble coping, even with enemies as strong as that. In short, his extreme trust in his zanpaktou's strength, the same trust that catapulted him into the high ranks of the powerful, is, amazingly, hurting him. It is quite the quagmire I find myself in attempting to help my star pupil!"

Yamamoto did not smile at the implied meaning. But something in his expression, something tense and coiled like a spring, seemed to slowly unwind as Urahara came to the end of his little speeach and when he spoke, it was in a much less commanding tone.

"And I assume you have something planned for him to help solve this…mystery?"

Urahara grinned evilly and chuckled before saying, "Of course… I was planning on the Academy"

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**WOW THAT WAS CRAP. I HATE writing Yamamoto. He is completely impossible to put to paper..er screen. And although i wanted to have fun with Urahara i couldn't really do that here where he is supposed to be serious. _sigh_ i guess ill just have to wait until later to have some seriously enjoyable writing. Oh well. Please read and review. I just might send you cookies if you do... :)**


	2. Chapter 1

**READ THIS**

** Okay so after all the seriousness i put in last chapter, aka Yamamoto was included, i couldn't help but put in a little humor this time around. don't worry there is some bearing on the main story here...I think. Anyway read and enjoy and see if you want to see Ichigo's misery in greater detail later on.**

** P.S. I LOVE ISSHIN he is the single greatest dad figure EVER.. just thought you should realize this and bow down to his awesomeness as well as Yuzu's cuteness. **

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"GOOD MORNING ICHIGOOOOOOO!" _Thwump. _ Isshin's sailed through the air, in full glomp mode, only to have his customary, morning, father son assault session meet only with mattress. That is until Ichigo decided to retaliate.

"GODAMNIT DAD! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING ATTACKING YOU'RE ONLY SON AT SIX IN THE MORNING?! WE DON'T EVEN HAVE SCHOOL TODAY YOU MORON!"He screamed as he jumped away from his father's flying glomp. Spinning on one foot, face contorted in anger, he swung his foot around to have it come into contact with the back of his father's head(Karin would later receive a call from the police saying that her father had been found unconscious in the middle of the street with glass embedded in his forehead). Perverted invader taken care of Ichigo made his way to the bathroom grumbling the whole way.

"_damn dad. What the hell does he think he's doing? It's not like he's actually managed to __do__ anything to me. At least not in the last 6 months. Besides, it's not like we don't have neighbors. Ah, whatever, right now I just really need a showEEERRR!" _Ichigo flailed as he face planted into the bathroom door right after a yellow and green blur streaked past him into said coveted room. "Damnit, midget! Get out of the bathroom! Some of us actually need to shower!"

His grumbling was cut short when the door quickly opened smashing into Ichigo's face. "Shut it strawberry! Ladies first you bastard!" Holding his nose, Ichigo clearly heard the click of the lock as she closed the door. He got up off the floor slowly, trying to minimize any potential damage to his face. "Shit. Just what I need. A pissed off Rukia. Doesn't she usually get up way before me anyway?" he said under his breath, or thought he did." Just because I got up a little late does not mean I'm pissed off! Now SHUT IT!" As Ichigo picked himself up off the floor once again he yelled, "Damnit! Stop opening that door in my face or else you're going to disfigure my face! We get enough of that with your ugly mug around here!"

He leaned against the wall and looking at the ceiling sighed sighed, "_Kami, what's up with her. I mean we argue a lot but WOW! Plus she's usually so quiet in the mornings. It's almost like she….OH SHIT!"_

At that moment Yuzu walked by with a load of laundry in her arms."Ichi-nii, what's wrong with Rukia-chan. Did you break up with her or something? You better not have. 'Cause then she'll have to move out and she won't have anywhere to go, and I won't have anyone else to watch Chappy with." Yuzu spoke while turning a disapproving look on Ichigo. His eyes widened as he took a moment to digest his sister's words. "Wait...WHAAAT! No,no,no, First off we're not even dating Yuzu. For God sakes we're at each other's throats half the time. Second I think she's just...tired. That's all" Ichigo's voice slowly dropped to a more reasonable tone as his caring older and overprotective brother mode kicked in.

Karin chose to put in her two cents at that moment, "First off, Ichigo, that's bull. Second off if you didn't break up with her then she must be _you know __what! _Which means you're fucked." With that terrifying thought in mind Ichigo turned away from his sisters, not even bothering with trying to correct his sister's language or attempting to enter into that sacred sanctuary that is the bathroom. Then, heading down to breakfast, he heard a sound coming from the bathroom that confirmed his fears, quiet sobbing. Sighing again Ichigo turned around and made his way over to the bathroom door. Opening it slowly, after making sure she wasn't about to slam his face with it, he said quietly, while peeking around the corner,

"Hey Rukia, you okay in there?" He wouldn't have admitted it for anything, but he just couldn't stand her crying. Not after the episode with Byakuya's first...visit, to the real world.

"Ichigo, you don't really think I'm ugly do you?" She was standing with her back to him. Her hair was messed up and her shoulders were slightly slumped, but they weren't shaking. Ichigo took heart at this and was about to reply with his usual retort when she turned around and her eyes met his.

Her miserable violet eyes which sat above the beautiful collection of river valleys that her face had become. Needless to say his eyes widened as his heart seemed to crack at the sight of her tear streaked face

"Of course not Rukia. I wouldn't go to all the trouble I do to keep you safe if even half the insults I threw at you were true." He spoke quietly and with a slight hoping to avoid an angry explosion, but anything was better than more tears,

"But, I mean, how do you think I look Ichigo? I know I can't measure up to girls like Orihime, but you still think I'm…cute… right?"

Ichigo gulped at the "conversation".

"Well, umm, Rukia I don't know. I mean honestly I never really looked at you or Inoue that way" _**lie**_,"but yeah you can be really, um, pretty. When you're not doing that fake schoolgirl voice at least." Ichigo couldn't resist throwing in that last comment.

"I knew it! I'm ugly. YOU BASTARD ICHIGO!"

As Ichigo attempted to protect his head and vital organs while simultaneously running down the stairs he heard his hollow shout in his inner world, "_Great Kami I knew it. Run King, she's on her period!"_

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**THAT's RIGHT! I went there!**_** Anyway whole _period_ thing will not be over exemplified in the story. It is funny and will actually have some importance in the story later. Maybe. I'm thinking that generally dead women don't have this happen so i'm planning on making it an unusual thing. If Matsumoto or some other dunderhead in soul society ever mentions it as normal, well i'm sorry. Here I AM GOD so i can make this happen if i want to. Anyway, cookies for reviews and and personalized cakes for all funny or helpful reviews.**_  
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	3. Chapter 2

**Not much to say except that after writing this I was exhausted. and p.s. the time is in there because that is when i am writing this. Oh and Ishihime will NOT be a major coupling. Its more just a kind of "HAHA you suck but i feel sorry for you" for all the Ichihime fans out there.**

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"_Damn it! What the hell am I doing here? I'm not her fucking maid!And I sure as hell don't…" _ Ichigo silently cursed and raved while simultaneously pulling the hood on his sweatshirt lower so as to hide his... distinct, hair. He was wearing nondescript black jeans and a black hoodie, and black gloves, and even dark colored tennis shoes, and as he approached the correct section of the store he looked up and groaned.

It read, "Pharmaceuticals"

Ichigo quickly glanced around, hoping no one had taken notice of his identity while his upturned face was exposed. He then looked at the clock behind the pharmacy counter and its blinking red letters.

"_1:27am, good, so I still have some time" _

Taking one more cautionary look down the tiled hallway, Ichigo lowered his head, widened his stance, and charged… down the hall, around the corner, and into the aisle which read, "Band-Aids, Neosporin, Gauze, Birth Control, and…

Ichigo looked up in the middle of his headlong dash. There it was, his goal was so close, but then he froze. Standing there, in the middle of the aisle, was none other than Ishida Uryuu. Ichigo's eyes flickered left, then right, then up and down, in an attempt to find an escape route, but there was none. Faced with embarrassment and social humiliation, or death, he chose humiliation and closed the last few feet between him and his goal.

"Hello, Kurosaki. What are you doing here at this hour?" Ishida spoke calmly, as though they weren't in a women's section of the store at one thirty in the morning.

Ichigo slowed his approach to an inching pace but didn't stop, "I could ask you the same thing Ishida." "_So close, just a little farther, then into my back pocket and out the door. Ill leave some money on the counter on the way out, no need to check out. Just a little farther…"_

"I would imagine I'm here for the same reason you are, buying certain _items_ for my girlfriend."

Ichigo stopped with his hand only inches from his goal and looked at Ishida. He wasn't looking at Ichigo while he spoke. He was reading on a box he had in his hands. It was small, white, and read on the outside, "Tampax, with new safeguard wings"

"You have got to be fucking kidding me! Inou's got you out here buying her tampons too?!" Ichigo's face was a sight to behold, his hood had fallen back slightly revealing his wide eyes and gaping mouth.

"Yes, and I would recommend this brand if you don't want her to dump you for getting a crappy brand," Ishida spoke while adjusting his glasses then looked down his nose at Ichigo.

"I got Inou that brand there last time and I nearly died from food poisoning the next time I ate at her house"

Ichigo snatched his hand back from the box he was reaching for as if he had been burned then asked, "Really, damn, the fact that you can even eat her cooking at all is amazing, but that you survived when she was actually trying to kill you is just… WHAAAAAT!? IM NOT HER FUCKING BOYFRIEND YOU ASSHOLE!" Ichigo snatched the box from Ishida's hands as he yelled.

"Well, then why are you out here at 130 in the morning buying Rukia's _items_?" Ishida was unruffled by either Ichigo's volume or the staring lady at the end of the aisle.

"I..well…uhh…FUCK!" With that last graceful comment Ichigo stormed away from Ishida over to the checkout. Too angry to remember his earlier plan or to take notice of the stares he was receiving from the cashier.

"Thank you for shopping with us sir, if there's anythi-" Ichigo cut her off, grabbing his change and his product and charging out the door. Once outside he calmed considerably as he blended into the night. Almost out of habit he reached out his senses feeling for hollows or Arrancar. The past few fights had not been kind, and he was almost always on his toes nowadays. As his senses reached out into the black ciy, his steady footsteps beneath the streetlights and the flickering shadows of the alleys slowly calmed him further to where he could form a coherent thought.

"_Damn Ishida, how the hell does he stay so calm about all this? I mean, yes, he's been dating Inou for a week or so, and its not __**illegal**__ or anything, but still, how has he even done this for her before if he's only been going out with her that long? I mean you would think that he-"_

Ichigo's steady pace stopped abruptly, and he leaned back onto his heels, his posture lazy, his hands never leaving his pockets. But in that moment his head and shoulders straightened, his eyes sharpened, and he went from a grumbling, gloomy teenager, to a ferocious power that could crush steal building with a flick of his hand.

He was standing beneath a street light. It's sickly yellow light casting his face in a shadow that made it seem cut out of stone. Then the light flickered, and there on the edge of the shadows stood a figure.

When he spoke, his voice was calm, almost bored, but there was something hidden in his tone, in the way his eyes slowly focused in on his target, and in the way his weight shifted ever so slightly, that gave away how tense he really was.

"What are you doing here… Urahara?" Ichigo's head tilted slightly as he directed his amber gaze toward the top of the bucket hat.

"Oh and I was just getting use to your nickname for me too Kurosaki-kun" speaking in his best shopkeeper's voice, Urahara slowly raised his head, sliding his hat back with his hand, and met Ichigo's gaze.

In that moment, Ichigo was taken aback, he wasn't looking at the playful shopkeeper who liked to meedle in his business, or even the stict but proud master of the blade who had trained him, before him stood a man who had a power that could shatter Ichigo's entire world and he knew it.

In the same playful tone Urahara said, "I have a favor to ask of you. It's really qui-"

"No"

"Well don't speak so fast Kurosaki-Kun, you haven't even heard me out."

"Bull! If there's one thing I've learned from you, it's that your ideas usually involve me almost getting killed so I'm sorry, NO" With that Ichigo turned his eyes forward, and resuming his earlier posture, albeit a little more... forcibly relaxed, he started to walk into the darkness.

"Ah but you see you don't really have an option here"

Ichigo stopped at the edge of the circle of light. Then, when he didn't answer, Urahara continued,

"You see, I'm sure many of your friends at school and in soul society would be very interested to know that Ichigo Kurosaki, the Great Substitute Shinigami, was out at 1:30 in the morning buying-"

"What is it that you want me to do?" Urahara smiled.

"Why I just want you to go to school."

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**Wow i creeped myself out writing that one. I don't know why but i could really picture this in my head, and after the comedy the picture got creepier and creepier. Maybe it was just in my head, or maybe it's because its so close to halloween but i could really feel the creepy today so i just had to write this so as usual Read Review and i will give you cookies. ANYTHING WILL DO EVEN FLAMES, although i don't really enjoy flames as long as they help they are apreciated**


	4. Chapter 3

**Longest Chapter Yet YAY!!!! BTW Im sorry for the wait but i have been absolutely loaded lately, plus my muse has disappeared into the mist. However, i just spent upwards of 12 hours in the car to and from a soccer tournament, where i had nothing better to do than chase my muse down and chain her to the wall. Anyway, i have actually pumped out around 5700 words for several chapters in their final forms, i hope, and i should be updating rather quickly... BUT NO PROMISES FROM ME! :) **

**Now On to the gloriously over spell checked story!**

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Ichigo stared at Urahara for several minutes with open astonishment on his face. Then when Urahara's grin didn't slip so much as an inch his permafrown resumed, and he growled out,

"What do you mean by **school** you sneaky bastard?

At this Urahara's grin slipped into a smirk as his fan came up to hide his face. Returning to his shopkeeper voice he said, "Oh, Kurosaki-san, you mean you don't know about the _**Academy**_!"

Ichigo's scowl deepened at Urahara's obvious enjoyment of his ignorance. He turned around fully facing Urahara in the slight luminescence cast by the flickering street light. Then he leaned forward slightly and spoke, "You know I don't know shit about any Academy Urahara, so get to the damn point!"

Urahara didn't react in the slightest to Ichigo's growl, and proceeded into his obviously prepared speech,

"Well, Kurosaki-san, the _**Academy**_ is the school for soul reapers originally founded by Yamamoto- soutaicho several thousand years ago. It sets out to teach the new recruits the basics or their upcoming jobs. Ranging from history to mathematics, and even advanced experimentation, which is taught by none of than the taichou of the 12 division Kurotsuchi Mayuri, the classes are designed to-"

"WHAT THE FUCK!?!? HISTORY CLASS!? YOU KNOW AS WELL AS I DO THAT I DON'T NEED TO GO TO ANY WEIRD ASS SOUL REAPER _**HISTORY**_ CLASSES! Not to mention the fact that I'm not comfortable being within a hundred yards of that weirdo Mayuri! Plus-"

Ichigo cut off suddenly, turning away from Urahara and peering into the night, all facades of teenage rage gone as he attempted to locate something in the gloom of the night. Looking down the street, he turned his head slightly, nose upturned, before dropping his chin and scowling, hand on his badge in his back pocket, fingering it anxiously.

"Damn Hat'n'Clogs, I didn't think you would bring so many friends."

Urahara moved to Ichigo's shoulder and sighed, "Sorry Ichigo, it wasn't my choice on this, but I wasn't kidding when I said you didn't have any choice in the matter."

Urahara suddenly smiled and clapped Ichigo on the back, "But I'm sure you'll have a great time at the academy, especially since your ability to detect reatsu has gotten so much better! Besides, you'll be sure to make loads of new friends."

Ichigo straightened from his slight crouch and said, "Like hell I'm going to this damn academy. I'm not leaving this city unprotected with all the shit that's been going on! And I swear, Soi Fon, if you and your men don't come out right now I will beat the shit out of all of you, and to hell with this academy shit!"

At this Ichigo was surrounded by members of the Covert Ops and Soi Fon stepped out from the shadows with a scowl on her face, "Kurosaki, do you really think that you could possibly fight your way out of this?"

"Yes."

Both Urahara and Soi Fon seemed taken aback by the blunt answer. Then Urahara managed to collect himself and said, "Now, now Kurosaki-san, no need to get violent. Young Soi Fon here is simply here to escort you through the senkaimon waiting for you back at my shop, if you come willingly. If not…" Urahara smiled and Ichigo tensed at the poorly disguised threat.

Suddenly Urahara was sent smashing into the side of the building next to them, and the next thing Ichigo heard was, "Damnit Kisuke, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Ichigo gulped as he turned around to face Yoruichi, the Goddess of Flash. Yoruichi sighed as she stood to her full height. Then she turned and faced Ichigo. Ichigo's eyes widened at her appearance. Even in the poor light he could see the bags under her eyes as well as the slight tremble that existed in her back leg.

"Yoruichi-san…"

Yoruichi smiled at Ichigo's obvious concern and said, "It's alright Ichigo, I've just been overworking myself a little bit on my recon missions. That's all"

At this Urahara spoke up from the dust and wreckage, " '_that's all' _ She says. '_It's alright'_ She says. And yet every time she comes back later and later, and more exhausted each time, and still she goes out again, despite my urgings!" As he finished his rant Urahara stepped back into the light, a full-fledged Kurosaki scowl etched on his face.

Ichigo stared at Urahara as though he were a complex puzzle. "_I don't think I'v ever actually seen Hat'n'Clogs frown before. Yoruichi-san must really be making him worry for him to drop his usual act. Not to mention she looks like she just died, twice."_

Urahara quickly lost his scowl as he noticed Ichigo's stare, but it was easy to see, now that he was looking for it, the remnants of Urahara's worry. It was in the tightness of his smile, and the way his eyes couldn't seem to stay focused on anything for any period of time, darting from one person to another, but the most telling thing was the way Urahara, as he walked toward Ichigo, met his eyes but didn't look at Ichigo, he looked _through_ Ichigo, obviously focused on something far beyond the disgruntled teen.

Urahara set his shoulder's and looked around at the other members of their tense group before setting his haunted eyes back on Ichigo, "Well, Kuro-"

"I'll go."

Urahara blinked at Ichigo's response and his eyes seemed to solidify in their focus for a moment, but he was cut off by Yoruichi, "What's with the sudden change of heart Ichigo? We all know you don't really want to go, so-"

"I really don't care Yoruichi-san."

This time it was Yoruichi's turn to blink at his response. Ichigo rolled his eyes and answered her obviously puzzled expression.

"Yoruichi-san, the only real question I have about going to this academy is, _why? _ How will this help me in the war? However, I have lived for six years seeing the same looks on my family's faces every day. They hide it, there's no doubt, but if you look, out of the corner of your eye, you'll see it. The broken face staring at the floor, ..remembering. I'm seeing those looks on your faces now, and I'm sure I would see something similar if Soi Fon and her fellow captains would show their faces, and I'll be damned if I end up causing you to hold that face for the rest of your life as you remember this war because I wanted to know why I should go to some school. I trust you, and for this I'm willing to forgo my questions, at least for now." As he spoke Ichigo slowly shifted his gaze from Yoruichi, to Urahara, Soi Fon and others in the shadows, and then back to Yoruichi as he finished. Then he sighed and said.

"Besides, Rukia's been bugging me to learn Kido forever."

They were stunned. You could see it in the way they fell back on their heels, and widened their eyes ever so slightly, and as he watched Ichigo could see a few of the lines of worry ease from their faces, and smiles fight at the edges of their mouths at his acceptance. Even the Covert Ops men visibly relaxed at the fact that they wouldn't have to attempt to subdue one of the most feared fighter's in existence. "_Wimps"_

Urahara was the first to recover completely. He visibly straightened himself and grinned like the maniac he was before taking a step forward and holding something out to Ichigo, "Ichigo-san, since you have agreed to go, and you have made something of a name for yourself in soul society, I am going to have to ask that you wear this at all times while you're on campus."

Ichigo stared down at the bracelet in Urahara's hand. It was black and seemed to be made out of several bands of metal interwoven in a complex pattern. Even as he looked the bands appeared to writhe and dance before his very eyes, but when he blinked, they stopped. Quckily snatching it and quickly snapping it on, Ichigo immediately understood why he would have to wear it.

"Hmm, hey Kenpachi, looks like I've been lumped in with you. This bracelet drains as much or more reatsu than that eye patch of yours." Ichigo smirked as he heard the big man's chuckle from behind the veil that Soi Fon had placed over him and the others.

"Well then Kurosaki let's head out"

Soi Fon's voice was noticeably softer, even it was still sharp with command, and annoyance that Ichigo had seen through her Kido. Ichigo started to take a step then stopped. They all tensed worriedly as a grin spread across his face.

"I almost forgot Hat'n'Clogs. If I'm leaving then _you _have to deliver these!" With that said Ichigo shoved the box of tampons into Urahara's hands and quickly flash stepped into the night, quickly followed by the other, but even in the midst of Flash Step Urahara could hear the chuckles, and in some cases open laughter, coming from the four captains and 1 ex captain following you young boy to his shop.

Urahara's surprised expression slowly softened into a slight smile, and lowering his to stare at the white box in his hand he said quietly, "Good luck Ichigo, you may just save yourself yet."

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**Yay for even more spellchecking! Okay i kinda rushed this chapter but i did edit it like 5000 times. This is actually only the first, and larger, portion of it because i kept adding on to it. It was kind of annoying. Anyway part 2 of this coming soon, it will be short and have lots of fluff, but the next one after that will be, dum dum dum, THE ACADEMY lol :)**

**R&R...PLEAAASSSEEE!!!**


	5. Chapter 4

**This is really really short i know. This was just supposed to be a few sentences as an introduction to the next chapter, and well... it kind of grew. I couldn't help it, and i just couldn't leave a really dramatic ending like that unused!:( Plus it gave me a whole new idea for drama in the real world with everyone _other_ than Ichigo, so i refuse to apologise(im sorry) and i encourage you to read and expect another chapter rather soon.(update: sorry but ichiruki will have to wait two chapters, i have been struck by an idea that has to go in here, and this chapter seems to set it up perfectly. Sorry, but i do think that you will like the new chapter alot. It's longer.)  
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Ichigo allows his mind to wander as he speeds along ahead of the others, hoping the night air will ease the fears plaguing his mind. As he tilts his head upwards to stare at the white moon, his hair blows slightly in the breeze of his flash step, and he smiles. This was not the smile that he showed to his family, or his friends, nor was it the maniacal grin or infuriating smirk that had lead to the downfall of so many. No, this was a smile, one which only one person other than he and those residing within his soul had seen. As a lone cloud drifted across the moon Ichigo's smile seemed to sink inward, gaining a depth, a complexity and sadness to reflect the condition of his inner world, "_The moon, it's so beautiful tonight. Sad almost… Will she be alright without us?" _ At the abrupt question he could feel the stirring of his soul as his partner, no his _partner__**s**_, sought an answer. Ichigo turned his head almost imperceptibly, _listening_.

"_**Well partner, considering she kicks **__**your**__** sorry ass just about every day, I think she can handle herself."**_ Ichigo remained silent, ignoring his hollow's attempt to lighten Ichigo's mood and dispel the clouds gathering in his inner world.

Shiro frowned at his failure and sighed before looking up at the moon that now shown over their darkened sky. Then, so quietly Ichigo almost couldn't hear it, Shiro whispered,

"**Ichigo-"** Ichigo's eyes widened slightly at his hollows solemn voice and the use of his name, "_**You know it's kind of interesting. Your inner world that is. It reflects the state of your heart and soul. Lately, it's been growing. Before it was just continuous rain, or continuous sun, and it was always daytime. Not much complexity at all. But now it changes. Now it evolves. Now, there's wind. There's hot and there's cold. There is a night time now…And there is a moon."**_ Shiro paused, and Ichigo unconsciously slowed in the real world, waiting for him to continue, and then he spoke again, even quieter, causing Ichigo to strain his mental _ear_ in an attempt to catch every word, "_**I don't know for sure, but I think that she will be alright. However, since she is apparently important enough to change your entire inner world, and since it seems to be bothering you as much as it's bothering me… I'll hang around here and keep her out of trouble alright?" **_ Ichigo's smile returned as he was presented with a mental image of his hollow, standing with a sad smile in his inner world. He sighed as he turned his gaze towards the moon once more before looking forward towards his destination, and speeding up with renewed determination at his hollows promise.

"_No" _Zangetsu thought to himself as he gazed upon Ichigo's figure in the now darkened sky of their inner world and then looked at the downtrodden face of the normally insanely gleeful hollow, "_They both know he's not smiling in thanks. He's smiling because he knows who's waiting for him."_ With one last look at Shiro, who was gazing at a building with a fake smile etched upon his features, Zangetsu turned away from his bleached companion and flickered before disappearing within the depths of their soul.

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**Shiro is... sad? What?! How is this possible?! lol anyway R&R and please continue to enjoy my story. any hints or ideas are much appreciated, and yes i am kinda depressed while i write this, but in a good, melancholy sort of way...???**


	6. Chapter 5

**Im not going to apologize for being away so long, i just had a rather bloody breakup with my gf and i have been in a pit of creative despair and funk. Thus i beseech you not to hold it against me and i beg you to read, and enjoy. (Offer of reviews=literary cookies is still valid :) **

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Shiro's grin faded with Zangetsu's departure. He then turned with a scoff at his momentary softness and strode confidently across the building before flickering and reappearing several buildings down. Moving quickly he ate up the distance within their inner world until he came to an end. "_No,"_ he thought, "N_ot an end, the End"_ Hichigo Shirosaki knew as he gazed upon that dark abyss, that hellhole of nothingness, that he was looking upon Ichigo's, and his own, demise. Even as he watched the Darkness sallied forth washing over the stoic buildings like a wave of unstoppable sorrow and emptiness moving over the shore. Splashing over the buildings, it covered several completely before retreating leaving most of the buildings still intact, but with a few more inches swallowed whole into that never ending blackness that surrounded all of Ichigo's soul.

Malignant grin all but forgotten Shiro stabbed Zangetsu into the building beside him and waited, watching. His eyes never strayed from that edge, that indefinable meeting point between life and death. He never blinked. He never shifted position. Just sat still as stone. He was waiting for something. Something he knew was coming, and craves its passing, while at the same time he feared what consequences it might bring with it. As he watched a breeze came forth from the blackness, He visibly perked up at this, his first motion in at least an hour but still his gaze never wavered from that spot. He needed proof, and that breeze was his clue to when his proof would appear, "_**After all, a wind can't come from nothing."**_

As though his words had triggered some response within the world around him particles of reatsu, so tiny he could only perceive them by straining his reatsu senses to their limit, began to gather, and were swept along by some unseen wind in almost the exact opposite direction as the breeze that still blew along Shiro's skin. Slowly they gathered in a mass of massive particles, and as Shiro stretched his senses further he could feel the same thing happening all along the proverbial shore. Tearing his senses away from the farswept spirit particles he refocused his attention on the gathering in front of him. Standing now, still with his gaze never leaving that edge with the swirling mass of reatsu, he watched as the spinning cyclone of power and force rose, taller and taller and ever taller, into the heavens. Then suddenly the breeze along Shiro's skin stopped, his white robes stilling and the russle of fabric quieting. Along with that stilling of the wind, the spinning reatsu slowed and stopped, suspended in the air, motionless. The quiet before the storm.

And as the hollow watched, the column, along with the cyclones all along the perimeter of Ichigo's soul, collapsed in on itself before spreading out like a thick fog along the edge, and then crossing it. As the reatsu crossed that edge it began to glow a bright blue. Then in lone and rare flashes of white the darkness was pushed back in tiny areas along the coast. The flashes of white become more and more frequent before the entire shore looked like one giant laser show. Finally, a few minutes later, the flashes slowed, and Shiro let out a breath he hadn't been aware that he was holding.

"_So it's being pushed back…and by several yards, but that doesn't mean squat if it can't-" _Shiro's thought cut of as he spotted a line of red flash out from the original edge through the reatsu toward that blackness, like a razor of blood intent on murdering that hellish abyss.

As the red flash faded leaving the blue glowing reatsu behind, holding off the abyss, Shiro thought he saw something in the wake of that flash, something more solid, real. It seemed to be a tiny grey strip tipped by a dark substance. Shiro narrowed his eyes as he attempted to ascertain the origin of that material, and it was obviously beyond the stage of being free floating reatsu as it had hardened into a representable material, when suddenly he spotted another line of blood out of the corner of his eye, and then another, and another. Before long it was a repeat of the white laser show, but in blood red.

Soon the material became quite discernable, concrete with a tip of glass, no doubt the beginning of a window, and as he watched the material distorted itself, and slowly grew and shaped itself into the edge of what would soon be another towering skyscraper. Shiro turned away from the distorting mass of newly formed concrete to gaze into the center of his world, his home. The inner world that had day and night. Sun and Rain. The Sun and the Moon.

"_The world that has been changing constantly since __**she **__came into our life."_ Despite his bitter tone, Shiro could not bring forth any real hatred for the raven haired beauty, only a vague unease and confusion.

Shiro sighed before tugging aside the center of his robes and gazing down at his hollow hole. When Shiro had first been born sixteen years ago along with Ichigo, his hole had been nonexistent, but, as was natural, as Ichigo learned of the world and its sorrows his hole had slowly formed in a process very similar to that of the abyss' attack on their soul, washing forth only to retreat with only a small amount of ground gained. That had continued until, with one final stroke of agony, Ichigo's mother had died, and he had become a young man, not fully grown, but fully matured in the wisdom and nature of sorrow.

At that time his hole had finished growing and was around the size of a grapefruit or a softball. No more. The hole that Shiro now looked upon was no more than the size of a tennis ball, and might even be a little smaller. As the hollow watched, the edge of the hole glowed in a bright ring of blue before flashing white, then red, and then finally returning to its normal colors, no doubt infinitesimally smaller. The process had been repeating itself ever more frequently now and his hole would would no doubt soon be completely gone.

Shiro looked on the destruction of his very nature with a pained grimace, before allowing a sad smile to work its way onto his face as he bowed his head and prepared to head back to the center of ichigo's soul so that he could materialize before Ichigo left for soul society. However, as he readied himself for that first flash step he felt a hand settle onto his shoulder in a firm grip that could only belong to one being.

Turning around with a maniacal grin on his face to meet Zangetsu's piercing gaze. Shiro started to speak, but he was silenced by the steady gaze of the Zanpactou spirit. Settling into silence he gazed into those dark eyes, watching as thoughts and emotions as countless as the stars passed through an intellect so vast it was mindboggling, and yet so similar to his own in so many ways. Finally, his grin faded and he spoke. "_**You know what's happening don't you?" **_

When the zanpactou simply continued to stare at him, his grin returned, albeit not full force, and he turned, shrugging of the comforting hand on his shoulder. "_It's not like he would ever tell __me__ anything anyway" _he thought bitterly, but as he started off once more Zangetsu spoke,

"**Yes, I do know what is happening, Hichigo, and not just what is happening to our soul. I know also how and why this thing is happening to you as well."**

At those words Shiro whirled around angrily to face the spirit once more and pointed his finger accusatorially at Zangetsu before screaming,

"_**Then why the hell won't you tell me why instead of dying, our life is just getting longer and longer. Why won't you tell me how the **__**Hell**__** my heart is returning, and for the love of all that is holy,.. why won't you tell me why I love her?"**_ He said the last part in a nearly inaudible whisper, but the fatherly being heard him. With a quiet smile Zangetsu replied,

**"I cannot, no I will not tell you why this… regeneration, is occurring. That knowledge is a blight upon my being that both you and Ichigo will soon share. However, I can tell you this. You love something that you think is worthy of being protected. And your new heart realizes that Rukia Kuchiki is indeed worthy."**

With those words Zangetsu strode past the inner being, and readied himself for a flash step, but stopped himself in time to turn around and say to the still stationary Shiro with a slightly mischievous grin, which freaked the doppelganger out coming from the normally stoic Zanpactou,

**"Well, are you going to protect that which you love, or will the horse's resolve falter in the face of such trifling uncertainty as emotion."** Shiro answered Zangetsu's smile with a grin of his own before saying,

_**"Like hell I'm gonna let that idiot of a king get our queen killed. Just because I have a heart like him doesn't mean I'm as moronic as he is."**_ With that said the two beings faced forward, let go of their fear and uncertainty, and sprang into the now spreading night beneath a full moon to go serve their king, and partner.

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**Deep thoughts scare me. AND THATS WHY I LOVE THEM :) Well how did i do? too mysterious, to creeepy, or maybe i need more of both, I can't know if you don't tell me so please review review review. And stay on my ass about updating by the way, otherwise my muse will most likely fall into a funk without my gf here to jumpstart it. (Cool Youtube ichiruki amvs are a good way to get my muse going... hint hint)**


	7. Chapter 6

**Don't even speak to me. I know the wait has been ****AWFUL**** but i said before i shall never again promise my readers anything on the way of updates. It leads only to heartbreak, disappointment, and needless flames and anger towards the fickle author(me, yay!) Anyway,**

**CHECK Out a few of the earlier chappys i have updated quite a few of them with correction although i am too lazy to fix all of them!**

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Under the clear night sky two young children worked diligently at their chores despite the late hour, or at least one of them did. The timid black haired girl, who was dressed in a light and airy sundress, was working hard at sweeping the already immaculate floor just outside the shop, while her partner, a redheaded boy with spiky hair and rolled up jeans beneath a white t-shirt, ran around acting like an idiot before pulling her pigtails and yelling at the little girl for something or another. Suddenly he grabbed up his broom and, holding it like a bat, swung it as hard as he could. "Jinta HOMERUN!!!" He screamed, spinning in a circle smiling maniacally.

After settling down he seemed to ponder deeply on something, if the constipated look on his face was any hint, before he turned his gaze to the black haired girl once more. A scowl formed on his childish face as he stomped over and grabbed the broom out of her hand. She reached instinctively for the broom, but she quickly pulled back, wincing, when he suddenly whacked her on her head with her implement of cleaning.

As she rubbed her injured cranium the boy towered over her cringing figure and yelled, "Ururu, you idiot, we came out here as an excuse to see them come in and listen in! If you finish sweeping then Tessai-san will make us go inside and go to bed and we might miss every-"

Suddenly, both froze as a soft, yet persistent wave of reatsu flowed forth from the shadows beneath the trees outside the shop. Both of them stood stock still, motionless, silent statues beneath the moonlight. Slowly, Jinta turned to face the shadowy figure that had flickered into existence sometime before it had sent out a slight pulse of reatsu to make them aware of its presence.

Jinta took a step forward, in front of Ururu, and puffed out his chest before speaking in a falsely confident voice and holding the broom before him like a sword by the wooden handle, like it would actually protect himself should the being before him choose to attack. He wasn't stupid however. He could feel the reatsu pulsing out from the figure. The reatsu was quiet, controlled and not malignant, but it was a power that he could feel deep in his bones, and those quiet menacing waves of passive strength spoke of a power to shake mountains and crush him to dust,

"Hey you! Show yourself. If you don't we'll be forced to attack, and we may look like little kids but we pack a serious punch!" As he spoke, his voice cracked slightly ruining whatever tough guy look he had. A soft chuckle emerged from the shadowy figure, and as Ichigo emerged into the faint light cast by the moon several other figures began to materialize around him, supercharging the air with the amount of reatsu crashing out of them, some more blatantly than others. (_Cough… _Kenpachi…_ cough_).

"Hey kid, it's alright. It's just me. Although I'm pretty sure I could take you despite your deadly broom." Ichigo smirked at the deepening scowl on the preteens face as he strode forward through the shadows and stepped up onto the porch, flanked by Yoruichi and Soi Fon with Yoruichi leading her former pupil with an almost imperceptible gap, of course. Ichigo abruptly ceased his motion midstride and stood stock still before tilting his head over his shoulder and glancing back at his former sensei. At her affirmative gaze he faced forward once more and strode confidently past the children into the store.

When Soi Fon tried to follow the young man, Yoruichi placed a hand on her shoulder to still her and said, "Little bumblebee, I think it would be both wise and considerate to leave our strawberry to say his own goodbyes now, don't you?." Soi Fon blushed at her old nickname before donning a confused expression,

"Goodbyes Yoruichi-sama? But who-" she cut off at look from the cat lady. "Just whose reatsu do you feel inside the store Soi Fon, hmm? As I said before, this is his time, and it's best if we leave him to it. After all, it seems like we'll have our hands full just controlling these bumbling idiots"

Soi Fon nodded absentmindedly at Yoruichi's pointed look at the now milling shinigami in the front of the store. She ignored their slowly rising voices, as well as the loss of her idol's restraining hand as Yoruichi moved to still the already agitated shinigami mass. Soi Fon stretched her senses into the shop and felt a very faint reatsu, obviously concealed, that seemed to belong to…

"Oh!" Blushing lightly at her obvious mistake, everyone in soul society knew about…! Well, that. She had even joined a few of the clandestine betting pools herself, and just because it was concealed was no excuse. She was leader of the Covert Ops. She should be able to detect concealed reatsu without even thinking about it! Thoroughly chastised and determined to make up for disappointing Yoruichi-sama, Soi Fon turned to the now arguing shinigami and joined her sensei in the rather bothersome task of keeping them from leveling the city with their out of control reatsu. After all, despite his good behavior earlier, Kenpachi Zaraki was not made for stealth, and it was beginning to show. Sighing at her lot in life the little bumble bee slid into the fray in the vain hope of calming her destructive comrades in arms before they did too much damage.

As Ichigo made his way to the trapdoor that led down to Urahara's underground basement he stopped and smirked, feeling the rising reatsu outside this shop. "_Good luck with keeping that maniac under control Yoruichi" _

With that thought he dropped down the now open hatch, not even bothering to use the ladder. As the wind whipped his robes around him as he fell he surveyed the basement, searching for, "_There!"_

Off to the right he spotted a black speck moving between the vast boulders and mountains that made up the underground desert. Upon touching ground he didn't even let both feet hit the ground, immediately pushing off with his left foot as it touched down and flickering into shunpo. As he came up to where he had seen the speck, he reached out with his senses once more and felt around till he found what he was looking for, a red ribbon streaked with black leading out of his own chest and into the distance. Smirking once more at the midget's inability to ever hide from him, he set off in a roundabout path to the left of the ribbon, which passed through the materials of the desert as though they were the ghost and it was the only thing of true substance, such was its vibrancy.

As the distance between them lessoned Ichigo pulled in his reign on his own reatsu, mentally thanking Urahara for the reatsu eating bracelet as his normally enormous reatsu faded away to almost nothing. Grinning at the thought of what was to come he slowed down and made the turn around the last corner with exaggerated slowness as he peaked out from behind the boulder. What he saw shocked him.

There was the midget, Rukia, but she wasn't the normal Rukia. She was pacing back and forth with her arms clutching at her sides as though to hold them together, her hair was extremely messy, she was weaving slightly as she walked, and her face was locked in a pained grimace that would worsen every time she took a step. As Ichigo watched she crouched down, still holding her sides and started to moan ever so slightly before she took a sharp intake of breath… and fell over.

Ichigo rushed forward, completely forgetting that she didn't know he was there in his desire, no need, to help the raven haired beauty. "Rukia! What's wrong? Are you hurt? Were you injured in a fight with a-" His worried rant was cut off by Rukia's sudden yelp of surprise and fright at the hulking figure in a shihakusho bearing down on her at a speed near shunpo. Ichigo stopped, worry scrawled across his face, as her rapid breathing slowed down and she realized who she was scooting across the ground away from. When she seemed to get a firm grasp on just who it was that had scared her so badly she leapt up screaming, black hair flying, and violet eyes blazing,

"YOU IDIOT! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? YOU COULD HA-"

Her tirade was cut off as she winced in obvious pain, barely keeping one eye open, and bent over at the waist clutching her sides once more. Ichigo, spared her physical abuse at least, rushed forward and put his hands on her arms, supporting her. At his touch she seemed to relax slightly and looked up at his face, meeting the penetrating amber gaze. He was taken aback by what he saw.

Gone was the confident nobility. Gone was the silly schoolgirl. All that remained was a terrified young woman who didn't know what was going on. "_Good god she's terrified! What the hell happened? I don't see any injuries or blood, but something had to have happened!"_

Moving slowly so as not to aggravate whatever was paining her, Ichigo slowly guided Rukia down to the ground where she sat with a huff, before blowing a black tress out of her eyes. Ichigo looked on, slightly relieved by the irritated, and normal, activity, before looking her in the eyes and asking her in a calm and confident voice,

"Rukia, what is wrong? I don't see any injuries, and you seem fine now, but just a second ago you just about couldn't stand. Please Rukia, just swallow that idiotic Kuchiki pride and tell me." Rukia stared right back, completely ready to yell at him, but then she stopped with her mouth already open for the chastising. Slowly he watched as her features softened.

"_His eyes" _she thought, "_He didn't sound worried at all, but his eyes look so troubled, as though my answer meant everything, as if nothing else mattered but me._"

After a moment's contemplation she spoke, calmly and not angrily, all the while never breaking the staring match between the two, "I- I'm not exactly sure. I'm not injured, but every so often I get these Kami forsaken stomach cramps that hurt like a bit-"She was cut off by Ichigo's sudden laughter.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY YOU BASTARD!" Ichigo dodged the hasty left hook and tried to calm himself, only partially successfully. His body still shook slightly and Rukia could no doubt see the laughter dancing in his deep amber eyes as he looked back to her to explain, and hopefully avoid further punishment. He chuckled again as his eyes set themselves on the obviously irritated shinigami and her disgruntled appearance, "_She really is cu-" _

**"**_**Hold it right there King, no goo goo thoughts until I am gone and away. Got it?" **_ Ichigo quickly scowled as he realized that his hollow was right and that he was indeed quite close to said "goo goo thoughts". A quiet smile settled itself on his face as he refocused on the slightly confused Rukia before speaking, "Rukia, have you been… ble- bleeding lately?" By the end of the sentence Ichigo could no longer look her in the eyes and had to look away to hide the slight blush adorning his rough face. Rukia looked aghast at the statement and quickly started,

"How the hell did you know that?! Were you spying on me you fucki-"

"No, No. I'm no pervert like my father. It's just that that is one of the symptoms of a girl's… well, that time of the month"

At Rukia's continued confusion Ichigo sighed deeply, looking to the ceiling for inspiration, before closing his eyes tightly and saying, "Your period Rukia, it's your period". Relieved that he had been able to make himself say it Ichigo looked back down, just in time for,

"What's that?"

Ichigo jaw was covered in dust by the time he was able to pick it up off the ground and say angrily, shaking her shoulders slightly, "You don't know!?" Rukia looked annoyed at his tone and quickly scowled and kicked him in the knee, since his shin was inaccessible as he was kneeling, before saying,

"What do you mean 'You don't know!?' Of course I don't know, you baka!"

Ichigo fell back on his butt clutching his knee, a constipated look on his face, "Fuck Midget! What the hell was that for?! You're a girl. You're supposed to know that shit Godamnit!"

Rukia waited patiently with her arms crossed over her chest while the dandelion finished his cussing. After all, if she didn't know, she didn't know and that was all there was to it. Finally calming down, Ichigo sat up slowly, with an irritated scowl now replacing the permafrown. (Rukia learned long ago to differentiate between his different scowls; really, they were all quite unique). He opened his mouth as though to say something, then a brilliant idea came to mind. A brilliant, but evil, idea that was quite possibly his most ingenious plan ever, "_Ha, this oughta teach that Geta Boshi shopkeeper to screw me over." _Calming his face into his ordinary scowl, he looked Rukia in the eye and said, "Rukia, don't worry. What is happening to you is normal, but I don't know enough nor do I have the time to explain it to you sooo… Ask Hat'n'Clogs about it later, Alright?" Ichigo said the last in a playful voice, and Rukia looked on doubtfully as Ichigo stood up and offered her a hand.

As he helped her up he pulled a little bit harder than necessary, causing Rukia to fall forward into him. Immediately he put his arms around her to steady the small lady. Forcing himself to ignore the feeling of every curve of her body pressing up against his, he looked down into her surprised face and said quietly, "Rukia, I went through a lot of shit to keep you alive, and I'm not about to lose you now. So I am asking you, please, for me, wear this. It will keep you safe while I'm not here, okay?"

As he said this he loosened his grip on her and held out his hand and a slow spiral of dark reatsu spun downwards forming a small cyclone in the palm of his hand, right in front of Rukia's face. Finally, in a flash of red light, the cyclone disappeared and in its place rested a black ring with a simple silver chain through it.

At first glance it seemed just that. But upon further inspection, the steel bands that made up the bracelet seemed to flow in infinitely complex patterns. Twisting and turning in designs so complex that it was impossible for the eye to follow any one of them, instead resorting to jumping from one to the next as you gazed at its smooth surface.

Rukia stared, captivated, feeling herself slowly being drawn into the patterns, farther and farther… Her focus was broken when Ichigo grabbed both ends of the chain, and, looking deep into her bright violet orbs, he put his hands around her neck and fastened the chain, letting the ring fall beneath her robes.

Then, on a sudden urge, while his hands were still around her neck, Ichigo pulled her forward and bent down, fastening his lips over hers. Backing off immediately, if only by a few inches, he looked into her shocked face and said, smirking, "Goodye Rukia, don't die". With that said he flash stepped off into the desert leaving behind a shocked but smiling raven haired shinigami clutching at something hanging beneath her robes.

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You want another chapter right? Ok. Keep going… Keep going…

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"_What the hell was I thinking?!" _

Ichigo sped across the desert towards the entrance, where he could feel the distinct reatsu of the other captains. He still had trouble sensing reatsu other than Rukia's and his human friends' past his own massive aura, but he was getting better with Zangetsu's help, plus that bracelet that Urahara had given him had made it a hell of a lot easier to reach out farther since he didn't have to work as hard to get past his own reatsu in the first place. Not to mention Kenpachi was generally a fucking waterfall of reatsu that couldn't possibly be mistaken for anything other than the reatsu of a bloodthirsty maniac.

"**Ichigo, do not regret swift action. As long as it was decisive and it followed the course of your resolve, it simply signifies a triumph over fear." ** Ichigo could feel the truth of his zanpactou's words, yet he couldn't help but doubt his actions. He could face down just about any monster known to man, or... other things, without too much of a problem, but he was simply _way_ out of his depth when it came to emotions.

Normally, with his family, he just followed his gut, his instincts. They were able to tell him when to be serious or idiotic with his dad, and they told him whether to ignore, chide, or comfort his sisters. It wasn't like he was totally inexperienced, he had played big brother to _two_ sisters for over ten years after all. He knew how to be soft when needed. However, all those instincts, the almighty gut of his, went haywire whenever Rukia was around!

"_I mean seriously, I never thought that butterflies in your stomach actually meant your stomach muscles going insane! How the hell am I supposed to make reasonable decisions with that going on!?" _He thought in a panic. "_I didn't even stay to see what her reaction was! I just took off like a coward, running away from my own __nakama__!" _

Suddenly another unexpected voice spoke up in his head.

_"__**You're not supposed to make reasonable decisions with your heart, King. I'm a hollow, and I know that! I'm your instinct remember! Trust me for once, that was the right decision okay!" **_

Ichigo froze, ignoring the spikes in reatsu coming from the captains at his abrupt halt. "_Shiro, what the __hell__ are you doing here?! You're supposed to be with Rukia you asshole! I felt you leave!" _

As his mental tirade continued Ichigo's outward appearance changed dramatically. His scowl deepened, framing his deep and angry amber eyes. His hand strayed towards Zangetsu's hilt, and he even shifted into a combat stance! Feet wide, hilt in hand, and eyes staring into nothing, Ichigo was cut off mentally by his inner being,

"_**King, are you stupid?! Kami... Im a piece of your soul! 'I AM ZANGETSU' remember! He and I are your power! Did you honestly think that just because I left your body temporarily I wouldn't still be connected with you?!"**_ Ichigo's aggressive posture softened slightly at this, and his scowl was replaced by a slightly curious expression.

"_Right, sorry, but will I still be able to speak with you when I'm in soul society?"_ Ichigo could feel his partner's obvious surprise at his question as an almost intangible shock in his mind,

"_**Well… yes, but we won't be able sense each other as clearly, you know emotions and all?, nor will we be able to talk to each other as easily. One of us will have to put some actual effort into it, or you'll have to call me back through the mask. Let me warn you though, while you wear the mask Rukia will be unprotected, at least on my part, and I will only be able to give you feedback on her situation, nothing more, so you will probably want to ask me before calling it out unless it's an actual emergency."**_

Ichigo relaxed slightly, relieved, before nodding assent and chuckling softly at the puzzled look he could almost see crossing his hollows face before it was replaced with that creepy smile of his.

"_Looks like I have to get going, the old people are getting impatient." _At this both of his inner beings chuckled, as the captains were indeed beginning to move towards his location, which wasn't that far off. However, as he kicked off from the ground and flickered into shunpo, Ichigo paid closer attention, and he could feel his connection with his hollow weakening so very slightly, and he felt uneasy at the uncomfortable empty sensation that came with such a realization. Especially since he was sure that the connection would be far weaker once he crossed over into soul society.

Refocusing on the presence of the captains, he pumped out a little bit of his reatsu, far more than he had ever had to do before, thanks Urahara, and made one long flash step to their location, kicking up a cyclone of dust that concealed his rustling black shihakusho and newly returned permafrown from the captains view for a moment. When the dust settled a moment later, he cast his gaze upon the group of shinigami, well some of them anyway, Soi Fon insisted on keeping that stupid veil technique going despite the fact that he had already seen through it.

He smirked lightly at Soi Fon's scowl and poorly veiled mutterings of, "Poor control" and "Flashy wannabe" before frowning again and stepping forward slightly as he noticed Yoruichi's puzzled frown. "Ichigo, your reatsu, what did you-" Ichigo cast her a warning glance and she picked up on it quickly, clearing her face and leaning back from the slight crouch she had entered in one of her more catlike moments,

"Never mind," she continued, "Let's just get going. I'm sure Ukitake will want to speak to you and no doubt give you a tour as soon as you rest. He is very proud of what the academy has become after all." Yoruichi smiled indulgently at the thought of the kindly captain, and Ichigo relaxed again at her change of subject, but he didn't miss the questioning glance that she shot his way, or the promise of further questioning concealed there.

Smirking again he strode forward into their midst and nodded confidently at Soi Fon who suddenly smiled at him despite his condescending signal. Frowning he started, "Soi Fon what are you-" suddenly panic filled him,

"Yoruichi-san! What did you mean res-?"

Suddenly the trinket on his wrist vibrated violently and blackness started to creep into his vision. he could feel his strength and reatsu being sucked away. "What the hell?" He spoke weakly as his body weakened quickly and he stumbled forward before pitching towards the ground. His last memory before blackness took him was a glimpse of purple and black as Yoruichi flashed under him to catch him before the ground, and hearing his hollow say, "_**Ha, I told you he wouldn't notice Zangetsu! King isn't that perceptive!"**_ Ichigo managed to utter one mental curse at his hollow before he descended into the sweet abyss that was unconsciousness.

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**CHECK Out a few of the earlier chappys i have updated quite a few of them with correction although i am too lazy to fix all of them!**

**Anyway, with that done, i can go on to actually enjoying my writing again(Academy YES!). As the academy, did i mention the academy?, is coming up next chapter, albeit maybe after a few explanations about the drugging or reatsu control sneaky thingy mabob at the end there**


	8. Chapter 7

**Okay, so this is really just the first half of this chapter, but i wanted to get this out there as soon as i could. Also i apologize for not giving you word on why i have been so late but Schools been a bitch lately and the only reason i was able to finish this was because im on spring break now, and i STILL have a bio proj due the day i get back... MY LIFE SUCKS, but that doesn't mean that yours has to so i will attempt to get the next chappy out as soon as i can since not reading the next part of my fic would obviously make your lives terribly sucky... right? :)**

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Jushiro Ukitake sat quietly in the corner, sipping his new herbal tea given him as a present from the Soutaicho(jasmine flavored), and listening to the breathing of his newest charge. Said "charge" slept deeply, like a rock really, in a fourth division hospital bed, hooked up to all kinds of most likely unnecessary machines. After all, Mayuri isn't the only one who likes to do a little research. As Ukitake's thoughts turned towards Captain Unohana's medical research and her methods in gaining test subjects, he paled visibly and drained the last of the tea before standing and moving to Ichigo's side at the quickening reatsu that signaled the end of the substitute soul reaper's badly needed rest.

Forgetting for a moment the more terrifying side of the soft-spoken and motherly captain, he looked down kindly upon the teen, smiling gently and relaxing his normally rigid stance. He couldn't help but notice once again the absolutely uncanny resemblance to his former fuku-taichou, especially now that the scowl had faded somewhat in sleep, but at the same time he realized just how different the two men were,

"_Ha, different indeed. This young man isn't whipped like Kaien was. There is no way that Miyako would have ever let him overwork himself to this point, but at the same time it is truly pitiful that he would feel the need to bear such a burden alone, and it is even worse that none of us noticed until Rukia told Urahara of her concerns, and that even she didn't notice for quite a while. No, this boy is far more experienced at hiding his troubles from the world than Kaien ever was. I just can't help but wonder why such terrible things have happened to such a young soul, and just what those things could have been to have made such a strong person become so introverted."_

Ukitake was forced to abandon his depressing thoughts as Ichigo began to waken. He straightened and braced himself as he watched the scowl slowly settle upon the tranquil face, ripping that false sense of peace to shreds, and those eyes open, revealing deep amber orbs that had already begun to blaze in anger.

"Ukitake-san, WHY am I in the fourth division right now? And please spare me the useless details meant to pacify me, they will only serve to PISS ME OFF even more."

Ichigo's voice was tight and controlled, but the pure unadulterated rage boiling over in the form of a menacing and violent reatsu that was pouring out of him was quite evidently simmering behind those black and yell…

"_Kami, what happened to his eyes?! Is this his hollow speaking or Ichigo?" _Thought Ukitake, panicked,

"_No, no hollow would ever be so calm when recently freed. It must be something to do with this godawful reatsu." _

Deciding to be straight with the boy, Ukitake fought against the pressure of the malignant reatsu forcing him down in order to speak,

"Ichigo-san, please calm down. You are in the fourth Division hospital for over-exhaustion. Nothing more I assure you."

Ukitake couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as the violence and amount of reatsu in the room decreased slightly, but looking at the boys tight grin, he could tell his young charge was far from pacified. He could see it clearly in every line of the now upright young man. Bacing himself to speak once more, he was interrupted as the boy's anger suddenly dissolved, or rather, it hid itself from view for the moment.

"Ukitake-san, are you being bothered by my reatsu?"

Ukitake reddened slightly before coughing and looking away as he said,

"Well…Yes, but that does not m-"

"SHIT!"

Unnerved by the seemingly bipolar teen, the shinigami captain looked quizzically at the boy, cocking his head to the side before sitting and watching the boy look at his wrist before frantically ruffling through his bed. While drinking the tea next to the chair and waiting for the teen to calm, he listened in to the boy's muttered curses, and an expression of realization soon overtook his features. Smiling, he set his cup of tea down before getting up, newly donned haori swishing with the movement, and walked over to the bed. Setting his hand on Ichigo's shoulder, he smiled wider at the powerful hybrid's childishly puzzled face. Then he reached into his pocket, pulled something out and said,

"Is this what you were looking for?"

"Where _is _the damn thing!?"

Ichigo couldn't believe the idiocy of these damn shinigami sometimes! They took the fucking bracelet off when he was _fucking_ unconscious, and just _thought_ that his newly released reatsu wouldn't bring every_ FUCKING _hollow within a _**FUCKING**_ one hundred mile radius down on their _empty_ heads!

"Damnit, what were they **thinking!**?"

At least when he was awake he could control his reatsu to some extent. That was why he had been sleeping so little lately, and only when he had completely exhausted himself of as much reatsu as he could beforehand. Seriously, he had little enough control as it was, and they go and knock him un-

At that moment, Ukitake laid his hand on his shoulder. Looking up into his seniors face, his expression of annoyance and sheer panic quickly morphed into one of complete bewilderment at the smile on the captain's face. Then he glanced down at what the captain was holding in his hand.

"You had it the whole time!? Why did you even take it off in the first place?!"

Ukitake chuckled at the anger hidden behind the boy's respect and puzzlement. It was concealed within the tight voice and the fists now clenching the sheets of the hospital bed within them. These symptoms definitely did _not_ lessen with the utterance of that chuckle. Now in a slight hurry to calm the overpowered teen Ukitake began speaking quickly but calmly,

"Ichigo-san, there's no need to worry. This is a special room within the fourth division designed with Kenpachi in mind. It is lined with Sekki Sekki stone and will make sure that the populace of soul society, which is comprised in large part of soul reapers, is not massacred by a horde of hollows that somehow manage to sense you past the giant wall of Sekki Sekki stone that surrounds the entire Seretei."

Ukitake cocked his eyebrow at Ichigo as he said this, and the boy's anger quickly transformed into shame as a he blushed and looked at the floor in embarrassment. Ukitake waited for Ichigo to compose himself, and when the teen finally unclenched the sheets and looked back up to meet the senior captain's eyes with his own fiery orbs Ukitake was surprised at the utter trust and respect tempered by a warborn suspicion that gazed back at him. Unable to meet such a hauntingly guilt inducing gaze, he removed his hand from Ichigo's shoulder and walked towards the lone window in the cell-like room while he spoke,

"As for why we removed the bracelet, the first bracelet you were given-"

At this he turned back to once more meet Ichigo's stare with his own before gesturing slightly with the bracelet in his hand. At Ichigo's nod of comprehension he continued,

"-was not all that it seemed, or rather" he said with a slight smile, "it was more. In any case, while the bracelet did indeed block off much of your rather impressive reatsu, it also was the means by which the sedative used to knock you unconscious was administered. Thus, in order to not continue dosing you until you died, we removed the bracelet as soon as you were within the walls of Seretei. However, your reatsu was so massive that, while it was not as destructive as Kenpachi's can be when he is resisting treatment, hollows were still responding to your unique… scent, beyond the walls. Urahara expected this occurrence, so we had this room ready. And before you ask, yes we have another bracelet."

Ukitake cut off Ichigo's forming question turned around and walked back to his bedside. After a moment of quiet thought staring at his hands, Ichigo looked up with his trademark scowl etched deep in his face.

"Ukitake-san, if you already had the bracelet, why didn't you just switch them out?"

At this Ukitake's lightly smiling face settled into a frown before he sighed and spoke while staring at the ceiling,

"That my boy, brings me to why you are even being sedated in the first place."

After speaking, Ukitake looked back down at Ichigo to watch the teen's reaction. He seemed resigned, but slightly puzzled.

"Well, I thought that it was to stop any further resistance on my part, or some prank by Urahara."

He shifted uncomfortably in the bed before meeting the sick man's gaze once more, his eyes begging the man to explain his stern reaction. Ukitake sighed once more before staring resolutely into those blazing amber eyes and saying,

"You were sedated, Ichigo, because you were idiotically reckless."

Ukitake's face remained firm and resolute as the young teens face transformed into a mask of bewilderment at the normally kind captain's insult, before indignation and a stubborn set overtook the substitute's face. Before Ichigo could speak, the intelligent captain's voice cut in,

"Ichigo, when was the last time you slept… _before_ you were trundled off to soul society?"

Ichigo seemed surprised by the question, but his anger remained clearly painted on both his face and voice as he spoke,

"I don't know, three days?"

His statement was obviously a question even to himself, and at the captain's look he gave an exasperated sigh and said,

"Okay, so it was more like a week, but I still don't see what that has to do with any of this." Ukitake sat up straighter in his chair at the ignorant dismissal of the problem and responded with another question, his eyes hard,

"And what exactly happens when a warrior that is central to a battle heads into a fight to support his comrades when he hasn't slept in a week and has been draining himself of all of his reatsu every night?"

Before he could respond Ukitake continued, leaning forward in his chair as he answered his own question,

"That warrior, no matter how skilled he is, no matter how much experience he has, no matter how powerful he may be, will makes a mistake, and when that happens in a battle, people die."

Ukitake sat back in his chair and watched as realization and horror clawed their way onto Ichigo's face while he computed the possible consequences of his attempt to hide his problems from the world. Ichigo hung his head in shame and said,

"I… I'm sorry Ukitake-san. I just didn't want to put Rukia or any of the others in danger with meaningless fights with hollows attracted to my reatsu. I never thought that I might be putting them in danger. I was stupid and I apologize. It's this whole Kami forsaken war. It's making me do and think things that I would never have even considered before, and now I just don't know what to do."

Ukitake's façade softened as he gazed at the broken boy silently mourning the loss of his own innocence. Finally Ukitake reached out and put his hand on Ichigo's shoulder and squeezed softly. Ichigo raised his head to meet Ukitake's fatherly gaze as he spoke,

"Ichigo, none of us are mad, well, maybe Rukia is, but that is only because she, and so many others, were so worried. You hid it well Ichigo, not even Rukia noticed until a week or so ago, when she tried to force you to get some real rest."

At this Ichigo chuckled nervously and looked away,

"But continuing to exhaust yourself in an attempt to do everything while still attending to your living world duties is just stupid. What you were doing would have been exhausting for any shinigami, let alone one that had to deal with friends, family, and school in the living world."

Ukitake's voice rose and he sped up in an attempt to get the young shinigami to realize just how serious he was,

"When you were carried into this division, you were in critical condition because your body resisted the sedative out of a habit of not sleeping. Normally a sedative that strong would knock you unconscious in a few minutes, but because of your unwillingness to get any sort of rest, by the time we could take the bracelet off, the sedative had combined with your already existent exhaustion to bring you to the brink of death. Captain Unohana had to work through the night and the next day to bring you back to stable condition."

Ukitake's voice was somber as he finished, removing his hand and waiting as the astounded teen attempted to comprehend all that was just said.

"I almost… died?"

Ukitake just nodded. Ichigo's eyes were wide as he slowly turned to look out the window. Then he slowly turned back to captain with his head tilted forward so that his eyes were hidden behind the shadows of his bangs. Sighing deeply he brought his gaze up to meet Ukitake's warm eyes.

"Has Rukia been told of my… condition?"

Ukitake cocked his head, pausing, before answering with a simple,

"No."

Ichigo sighed out of relief and said,

"Good, please make sure neither she nor any of my friends find out. I don't think I could stand the thought of her worrying about me because of such stupidity."

Finishing with that Ichigo quickly stood before turning to Ukitake and saying,

"So, on a lighter note, when do I start at the academy?"

Ukitake smiled at him. Then he stood and held out his hand saying,

"If you're ready, immediately." Ichigo smirked before clasping the older man's hand and saying,

"Well then let's get started!"

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**Just...success. :) atleast i think so on _this_ part anyway. Remember R&R if you can please.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Okay this was sort of a fun, but mostly non serious explanatory chapter. Even though my muse is in overdrive right now and i got almost a ten thousand words for my bood done, this was extremely frustrating to write simply because it is almost all explanation. I'm sorry, but it had to be done... Anyway, i tried to throw in a few little fun things like a hint at fangirls to come, but you will probably be frustrated with me after this. Sorry**

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The crunch of leaves and the breaking of twigs rang out as Ichigo and Ukitake plodded along in the forest on the edge of the Seretei, just outside of districts 21 and 22. Ichigo couldn't help but marvel at the beauty around him. Everywhere he looked there were massive trees the likes of which he had never seen before. Once, as they walked along, they passed a river that had the flowers from the cottonwood tree nearby floating down it, presenting them both with an unheard of beauty that they both stopped to enjoy for a short moment out of unspoken consent.

However, with incredible devotedness to character, Ichigo soon became impatient with the ideal scenery and asked,

"Um, Ukitake-san, this is all very beautiful, but where exactly _is_ the academy?"

Ukitake said without stopping,

"That's Ukitake-sensei from now on Ichigo-san, while I am still rumored to be kind outside of the Academy, I am relatively strict as the headmaster, and it would not do for you to be seen speaking to me so informally since so few of the students will recognize you as the famous Ryoka that stormed Seretei to save his true love."

Ichigo stopped dead in his tracks sputtering and flailing his arms. Turning around and spotting Ichigo standing there with his mouth open and his arms flailing in embarrassment and indignation, he couldn't help it. He burst into laughter at the sight of such a hilarious display. Walking back towards the carrot top, he attempted to reassure him.

"Don't worry Ichigo-san, the moment war broke out within Seretei, namely when you and your friends first arrived in Rukongai, the protective Kidou placed around the academy was activated, blocking out all but the teachers and authorized personal whose reatsu was keyed into the barrier to allow them access. It has remained active, with a few necessary exceptions for easier communications, while Aizen is on the loose, so most of the students have only heard vague rumors at the most, let alone detailed descriptions of you and your friends' appearances. Even your name is only spoken incorrectly and in hushed whispers since we try to keep the students from speaking of anything outside of campus or family in an attempt to keep them focused on their studies. The closest I've heard anyone get to _your_ name is Ichiro Nagasaki, and I don't think anyone would believe me if I said that the famous Ryoka was named 'strawberry' either, so you're safe."

At the reference to his name Ichigo started to redden in anger before he calmed slightly and began walking again, but while his normal scowl did return to his face, his visage remained slightly indignant and puzzled.

"Ukitake-sa…sensei, I won't ask about who started the rumor of Rukia being my true love since I don't think I will have a chance to pay Kyoraku-taichou a visit any time soon, and I don't really care since I am sure Byakuya already 'spoke' with him, but what kind of protective kidou is placed around the academy, and why is it there in the first place?"

Ukitake chuckled at the reference to his friend and the incident which had occurred upon Byakuya Kuchiki's arrival in the squad 8 barracks before suddenly stopping with a proud smile on his face and saying,

"Just watch."

With that said he took a step forward and yelled with a sharp swipe of his hand,

"Release!"

For the second time that day Ichigo could do nothing more than stand and stare with his mouth agape as what had appeared to be a mere continuation of the small trail leading through the Forest shattered like a pane of glass, revealing a massive white wall stretching to either for as far as he could see. And directly in front of him was giant double door gate that was reminiscent of the Seretei gate, albeit smaller. He watched in awe as Ukitake walked up to the gate and drew a design on it with his right index finger, whispering a kidou incantation under his breath as his finger left behind a glowing line of reatsu as it moved. Ichigo's vision blurred and swam as his eyes and mind lost track of the countless twists and turns contained within that dancing design. Ichigo blinked when Ukitake, finally finished, drew back his hand before slamming it into the center of the design.

There was a whooshing sound of released air when the gate swung open to reveal a large grassy front with a few small oasises made up of ponds surrounded by several shade trees spread out across the clearing. A small gravel path led through the center into a group of low roofed building. Behind the paper doors he could barely make out shadows moving around, and one of the classes had moved outside, where the students sat on the grass around a pond with zanpactou sitting across their laps while the teacher, in this case a rather small diminutive women with graying hair, spoke to them from her position under one of the trees. Finally turning around Ukitake grinned broadly at Ichigo and said in a proud voice while sweeping his hand dramatically towards the newly revealed campus,

"Welcome, Ichigo, to the Genryusai Shinigami Academy!"

After the initial explanation that the Kidou had been applied as a safety measure before the wall around Seretei was built, Ichigo barely heard Ukitake attempting to explain his introduction to the academy so engrossed was he with his surroundings.

Finally, while he was attempting to peer into a classroom whose door was cracked open, his attention was brought back to Ukitake with a sharp pain to his head. Spinning around, he was greeted with an irritated Ukitake holding an unmarked sword in his hands. Ichigo started to protest but was cut off by Ukitake raising his eyebrow… and the hilt of the sword.

"Like I was saying before, normally we would issue you an asauchi, or an unnamed zanpactou, which you would attempt to use as a conduit to contact your own zanpactou. Obviously this will not work with you, but luckily it is not unheard of for a student to learn their zanpactou's name before they arrive here, in fact Hitusgaya-taichou had Hyourinmaru quite some time before he came here to become a shinigami, so in order to deal with your special needs we will be replacing your ordinary zanpactou communing class with an advanced meditation seminar in which you will be studying how to seal your zanpactou. After all, there is no real full time release zanpactou, you simply have such a massive amount of natural reatsu that takes almost no effort to keep your zanpactou in such a state, and so your soul keeps it that way as a sort of practical self defense."

Ukitake stopped their tour through the grounds and looked at Ichigo's puzzled expression at the mention of "meditation seminar" and "zanpactou communing class". Sighing, he asked,

"Ichigo-san, did you actually hear any of what I just said over the last twenty minutes?"

Grinning sheepishly Ichigo replied,

"Other than that last bit and some really excited part about how you have some really great teacher from nobility or some such, not a word."

Ukitake frowned slightly at his unconcerned attitude marring his normally kind face, before continuing in an obviously annoyed tone.

"Hmm, anyway, ignoring the finer details of your later schedule, you will basically always be having six periods each day except for the weekend. First period is always Kidou, second Hakuda, third is Seretei Law, Fourth is lunch and break where you will be having free range over campus, fifth is Zanjutsu, and the last class of the day will always be your zanpactou communing class. That applies to everyone even if they are technically in different classes. Got it so far?"

At Ichigo's nod and attentive gaze Ukitake motioned for them to walk and talk,

"Now, you have to have at least two electives which will be taken in either the morning or the evening on Saturday, and you will have Sunday off. The electives include extra courses in all of the main subjects as well as healing, advanced sciences, and History, but I doubt you'll be very interested in any of those."

Now motioning to the classrooms around them he spoke,

"We are currently passing through the west wing of campus. Campus is arranged into four main sections, zanpactou studies is in the west, as you saw in the entrance this wing is the most beautiful since the scenery and atmosphere helps with meditation, then in the north are the classrooms for Zanjutsu and Hakuda, Kidou is in the East, and Law as well as all of the irregular electives are in the South. In the center of campus surrounded by all of these buildings are the dorms, and in the center of the dorms is the cafeteria, the heart of the student body."

Ukitake said this with a smile and Ichigo couldn't help but join in.

"_After all, I guess every school is really the same, all that the students really care about is food."_

With that in mind Ichigo listened as Ukitake explained the exact locations of the extra training rooms and how each specialized room was located within the wing it was associated with. Like the rooms with extra targets for Kidou practice was located in the East wing while the library was located in the South. Finally finishing their meandering path through the West wing of the campus they entered into the central common area. There were already students strewn across the area in small groups. Ichigo still couldn't get over the size of the place. It was like a small city unto itself. Slightly puzzled at the students lazing around so early in the morning Ichigo quickly voiced his query to his impromptu guide,

"That's because they are older students and have completed all their courses for the Hakuda portion of their education. There are other classes they can take, but the main section of their education in Hakuda they have completed faster than some other section of their time here. You see each course and your advancement in it is completely independent. Once you complete Hakuda you can obviously still train, but it becomes a free period where you can relax and socialize. Of course this usually takes years, but some do complete it quicker than others."

Ichigo relaxed from his tense position after hearing the 'years' part. He didn't have that kind of time.

"Ukitake-sensei, do you train every day in _every_ physical class or what? That seems kind of stupid to exhaust your students like that."

Ukitake chuckled at the teens gruff response and quickly replied,

"Well not every day is what we call a practical day, or a training day, in every class. Some days you will have theory days, where you might listen to a lecture about what you will be practicing the next day or about a technique which you might never actually be strong enough to use."

Ukitake paused for a moment to turn Ichigo away from the direction of a group of giggling girls who had spotted the handsome young man, who was of course completely oblivious. After glaring at the girls and sending them running after they recognized him he guided the orange haired teen more towards the testing area in the northern wing then he continued,

"Of course it all depends on which course in that subject you are taking since you can advance from Hakuda 1 to Hakuda 4 before you ever make it to Kidou 2, but generally you don't ever get too overworked, and it is rarely much of a problem because that way everyone is taking the most difficult courses, level 7, at different points in time. It seems to work pretty well, and while you might be able to pass level 7 in Zanjutsu right now, until you pass level 7 in Hakuda, Zanjustsu, and Kidou, you can't move onto practical combat which is one of your final classes which combines all three, and takes the class periods of _all three_. It is the single most important class you take, and it is also the first time where our students go up against a hollow that isn't a manufactured dummy hollow. Most of the casualties here occur in this class."

At this point they had moved through the much larger and less scenic northern wing and stood in front of a large building with holes patched in the walls and smashed windows showing. Ichigo stared wide-eyed before Ukitake said simply,

"The testing grounds"

Ichigo nodded suddenly. The holes and badly needed repairs were easily understood. He still couldn't forget when Rukia had tried to teach him Kidou. It took him two weeks to work off his debt to Urahara for the damage done to his shop when a Byakurai the size of a train had gone barreling through his shop, and while Hat'n'Clogs' expression had been hilarious, moving various boxes in the back of the shop for two weeks had not been. So, shuddering slightly, he simply nodded and asked, "So, when do I get to take this test"

At this Ukitake grinned and said,

"Well that was what I was getting to. You see you can actually start off in a higher level class if you score well on the test, but the test day for this month isn't until tomorrow, so here is your dorm number. They will be giving you your uniform tomorrow at the test so I had some clothes sent ahead to your room just for tonight."

He handed Ichigo a small slip of paper. On the front was the number 214 and on the back was the skull symbol of the shinigami.

"Also, before I forget. We are lucky enough to have been sent new teacher. She was sent from the royal dimension to teach as the Kidou instructor in the level 7 course as a favor to Genryusai-sensei. She came here about a year and a half ago." His grin broadened, and became slightly mischevious, and at this point he was seriously freaking Ichigo out, "She's very skilled, but, in that time, not a single person has passed through her class and onto practical combat… She also proctors the entrance exam for Kidou." With that said he turned and walked away with a dramatic swish of his haori and a barely heard evil chuckle. Ichigo stood there staring after him, mouth open, posture slouched, before the slip of paper slipped through his fingers and slowly drifted to the ground before being swept along by a gust of wind. A moment later every student on campus, as well as every hollow in hueco mundo, heard an earsplitting scream that might have sounded something like, "**SHIIIIITTTT!"**

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So, can anyone guess who the new kidou instructor is????? I actually got that idea from a reviewer, so on that note i have been thinking about where this story should go but i have been lazy about picking names for my new characters. So if you could review, i would like a few ideas for some good japanese names. All sorts will be workable since i will have all sorts of ocs now, but i can't promise i will use your name if you review, but i can promise that if i dont use it you will get a response at least. Unless of course the name is something like ShitAssati or something idiotic like that. Although if its funny enough i might name a nobal brat that... Who knows? Anyway hope you enjoyed and please continue to R&R  
**


	10. Account fixedupdates?

**IM BACK! YAY! Anyway, the main point of this is that finally my account on has been fixed. However, due to some problems with my screen, i am going to have to turn in my **

**computer to the tech department at my school(i bought this comp through them). And according to them they will also be installing Windows 7 (another yay) but be/c they will be **

**installing that on all the student computers, i wont be getting it back until the end of the summer. Long story short, i will most likely only update mabye once or twice over the entire **

**summer since i will have to use my mom's comp... who knows, maybe ill do more since i'll most likely be bored. Finally, i would like to say that while i did plan to come out with **

**another chappy soon it will have to be postponed e/c next week i am going on a trip to Spain. That's right, all of you can die with envy, i am going to Spain(sticks tongue out and pull **

**down eyelid). Anywhoo thanks for reading if you made it this far and wish me luck on getting things back on track with Sealed**

**Kvothe Arliden  
**


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